This invention relates generally to the field of vehicle racks and more specifically to a system and method for loading one or more one vehicles onto the cargo bed of a transporting vechicle.
Users of vehicles such as All Terrain Vechicles (hereinafter “ATV's” or “ATV”), motorboats, kyaks, boats, windsurfers, snowmobiles, motorocycles, golf-carts, go-carts, snowblowers, bicycles and the like, often face the significant challenge of how to transport these often heavy and unwieldy toys to a desired location. For example, an owner of an ATV is likely to keep the ATV in the garage. However, since the use of ATV's is generally not appropriate in urban or suburban areas, the owner must transport the ATV to an open space area before use. A similiar condition exists for the users of snomobiles. While larger boats may be stored at a boat dock, smaller motorboats, kyaks, smaller sailboats, and windsurfers are often stored at home or elsewhere and need to be transported to the desired lake, river, reservior, or ocean. While bicycles and motorcycles may be used in the city, it is often desireable to trasport them to an open are for recreational use. In particular, mountain bike enthusiasts will often want to transport their bikes and themselves out to a trailhead in a truck or car before riding.
ATV's, boats, and snomobiles, in particular, often weigh hundreds of pounds. These vehicles are also often long and bulky, and therefore it is impossible to fit them into the trunk or cabin of a typical car. These types of vehicles also will often not even fit into the cargo area of a typical Sport Utility Vehicle. For these reasons, most users prefer to trasport such vechicles in one of three ways. The first way is to place them in the cargo bed area of a flat bed pickup truck. The second way is to secure the vechicle or vehicles onto a trailer and then attach the trailer to the back of a car or truck for towing. The third way is to secure the vehicles to the roof of the transporting vehicle.
These ways of transporting vehicles face the following problems. First, generally only one larger vehicle such as an ATV, boat, or snowmobile will fit into the cargo bed of the pickup. Those desiring to transport multiple larger vehicles will generally attempt to accomplish this by to placing the first vehicle into the cargo bed of the pickup truck and transporting additional vehicles via a trailer. However, this solution is not always available because the vehicle placed in the back of the pickup is often too big to allow the tailgate of the truck to close. If the pickup tailgate cannot close, it is generally impossible to tow a trailer because the open tailgate will block access to the trailer hitch. This has become more of a problem recently due to the popularity of short bed pickups. Pickup truck beds are often made shorter to accomodate additional passenger space or make the pickup easier to drive. Second, many pickup trucks contain accessories that are attached or installed into the cargo bed area. Pickup truck owners often install or attach a heavy duty tool box, an auxiliary fuel tank, and/or a 5th wheel hitch into the cargo bed. The presence of such accessories makes it impossible (or at least more difficult) to fit a larger vehicle into the pickup's cargo bed. Third, storing a vehicle in the pickup cargo bed area substantially reduces space available to store other items. This can be particularly problematic in the context of an overnight camping trip or a group outing where additional supplies and gear will be necessary. Attaching vehicles to the roof of the transporting vehicle is a cumbersome and clumsy process for lighter vehicles like bicycles and kyaks, and it is nearly impossible for heavier vehicles like ATV's and snowmobiles. A solution particular to the challenge of transporting multiple ATV's with a pickup truck is currently on the market. It is a large, heavy rectanguloid scaffolding placed in the back of the truck with platforms adapted for ATV's on top. Apparantly, these systems are generally referred to as “ATV racks.” These ATV racks are effective in transporting two ATV's on a single pickup truck cargo bed while still allowing the tailgate to close. The solution also allows for attitional items to be stored in the cargo bed below the platforms where the ATV's rest.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,014,398 issued to Mark Hellwig, discloses a racking system for transporting vehicles, such as motorcycles, bicycles, ATV, watercraft, etc. on the bed of a transporting vehicle in an “upright” position, which would apparrantly be substantially verticle. Hellwig's system includes a pair of floor plates that are firmly secured in position in the bed of a vehicle and a rack removably secured to the floor plates. The rack has a pair of spaced legs on each side thereof, the legs being removably secured to the floor plates. The legs are interconnected at top by a transverse rail with a second rail extending parallel to the first rail interconnected to one of each pair of legs below the first rail. Vertical spacing bars extend between the first and second rails adjustable therealong. In this manner, the wheels of a motorcycle, bicycle or ATV or the like may be fixedly secured between the vertical bars.
However, each of these technologies have several important drawbacks. One drawback of the “ATV rack” technology is that the scaffolding system is bulky and unwieldy, making it difficult to load, remove and store. This must be so because the scaffolding takes up the entire pickup truck cargo bed. The scaffolding is also heavy. In fact, the versions cited weigh 197 pounds. It is very difficult for a person to singlehandedly load or release one of these systems. Also, many pickup truck owners drive with one or more mounted accessories such as a truck bed tool boxes, auxiliary fuel tanks, and/or a 5th-wheel hitch in the cargo bed of the truck. Since the scaffolding system takes up substantially the entire pickup truck cargo bed area, it may not be loaded simultaneously with such accessories. Therefore, the user must release any truck bed tool box, auxiliary fuel tank, and/or 5th-wheel hitch before using this type of ATV carrying system. This can be a cumbersome task because these types of accessories are themselves generally heavy and unweildy. Plus they are usually bolted into the truck bed, so they must be unbolted before being removed.
Like the “ATV rack” system the Hellwig system, containing numerous rails, plates, and clamps is also likely to be heavy and unwieldy. It is not clear from the description if or how the Hellwig system would be able to straddle any attachments to the cargo bed area. An additional drawback to the Hellwig system is that the vehicles to be transported, which are themselves often very heavy, must be lifted into the upright position the system discloses.